Season's Greetings

The SCO community sends our gratitude to our alumni and friends for your support throughout 2023. It was a great year, with the Class of 2023 achieving an ultimate passage rate of 99.2% on National Boards vs. the 83.6% national number! Our students truly appreciate all our alumni and friends whose support helps make SCO successful!

Hayes Awards

In 2024, the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence will celebrate 10 years of recognizing outstanding young alumni with the Practice of Excellence Award. Nominations are now open for the 10th Annual Awards. Individuals may nominate themselves or other alumni for this prestigious recognition.

Members of SCO's classes 2014-2021 are eligible. One winner will be selected in each category:

• New Practice Award - recognizes an OD in a practice that was a cold start;
• Partnership Award - recognizes an OD with an equity position in a multi-OD practice;
• Practice Acquisition Award - recognizes an OD who acquired a previously existing practice.

Award recipients will each receive a $5,000 award, a plaque, and a trip for two to Memphis for the awards presentation on April 10, 2024. Completed applications must be received by February 11, 2024. Email lwade@sco.edu for full details or visit the HCPE site for more information.

Alumni in St. Jude Marathon

Several SCO alumni joined students and employees in participating in this month's St. Jude Marathon. Appearing on video to talk about their participation were Drs. Mark Kapperman ('87), Justin Johnson ('12), and Autumn Killop ('21) as well as students Tracie Thibault, '24, and Haley Varcoe, '25.

Photos from the event include (top row): Drs. Lindsay Elkins ('07) and her sons; Autumn Killop ('21), Justin Johnson ('12) and Raymond Lambert ('12), Mark Kapperman ('87); (bottom row): Dr. Christina Newman and Eleanor Null ('15), Shaleen Ragha ('16), and Mike Dorkowski ('04) with a friend.

Of special note:

• George Elkins, pictured on the far left with his mom, Dr. Lindsay Elkins, was diagnosed and cured as a toddler of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia through St. Jude, where he continues his yearly follow-up appointments. George is 12 now and finished 6th in his age group!

• Dr. Mike Dorkowski was one of the top finishers in the half marathon from SCO's team and made top 20 overall in his age group.

• Dr. Raymond Lambert ran the full marathon and finished top 6 in his age group and achieved his first ever Boston Marathon qualifying time!

• And it was the first time back to SCO for Dr. Justin Johnson since graduation. He brought his family along to tour his alma mater.

We hope to see you on SCO's team next year!

Eclipse Glasses

A total solar eclipse will be visible across much of the country on April 8, 2024. American Paper Optics, the largest manufacturer of eclipse glasses in the country, has partnered with SCO to offer alumni the opportunity to advance order glasses for reselling or sharing with your patients to promote safe eclipse viewing. Learn more about ordering glasses here.

Spring CE

Make plans to attend SCO's Spring Continuing Education Weekend on April 13-14, 2024. Registration will open on January 8, 2024. This year's theme is 2024 Innovations and Updates. Look for more details in the new year.

Bill Thompson, OD '81, has been appointed to the Texas Optometry Board.

Jim Cloepfil, OD '82, is retiring after 41 years of practice in Iowa. Laurel Heskett, OD '23, will be joining Jacob Muller, OD '15, to carry on the practice's patient care. Read more here.

Charles Shidlofsky, OD '88, was named President of the new Executive Board for the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association.

Emily Sprague, OD '04, was recently promoted to the rank of Captain (0-6) in the U.S. Navy. Dean Swick, SCO's VP for Information Services, and J. Bart Campbell, OD '87, SCO's VP for Academic Affairs, attended the promotion ceremony.

Heidi Bell, OD '12, and her partners at Elite Eye Care recently opened a new practice in Norwalk, Iowa. Gabrielle Magee, OD '22, is one of the practice's primary ODs.

Cecilia Koetting, OD '12, wrote about detecting geographic atrophy for Women in Optometry.

Robyn Epley, OD '13, recently opened a new practice location, Vision Care Clinic, in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Scott Moscow, OD '13, wrote about insurance verification technology for Review of Optometric Business.

Jade Coats, OD '16, co-authored the feature story on QLOSI for Presbyopia Physician.

Brett O'Connor, OD '16, wrote about mastering myopia for Contact Lens Spectrum.

Shaleen Ragha, OD '16, married George Abbott on September 23 in Tom Lee Park in downtown Memphis.

Ibrahim Qattan, OD '17, has opened a new practice, Valley Ranch Eye Care, in Coppell, Texas.

Katy Hutchins Hezel, OD '18, and her husband, Kris, welcomed a daughter, Katelyn Olivia Hezel, on October 28.

Mary Kate Walters, OD '20, recently celebrated the opening of her private practice in her hometown, Brenham, Texas.

Katelyn Marks, OD '21, and Tyler Wills, OD '21, married on October 7 in Memphis, with a number of classmates attending.

Arianna Schabauer, OD '21, and Joseph LeMay, OD '21, were married on October 6 in Denver with a number of classmates in attendance.

Lauren Goettemoeller, OD '22, married Grant Phillips on September 23 in Sidney, Ohio. Several classmates, pictured, were in attendance.

Cassity Youssef, OD '22, and Josh West were married on September 3 in Valley, Nebraska. Drs. Kim Santillan, Sarah Mastrorocco, Lindsay Thornton, and Sonali Das from the Class of 2022, pictured below, attended.

• Norden Davis, OD '61
• John Pino, OD '86

Dr. Melissa Zarn was named Vice President for the new Executive Board of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association. Dr. Zarn was also appointed to the ASCO Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Committee.

Dr. Wil McGriff appeared in the WKNO Sparks Award program on public television to talk about the Rotary Club's involvement with the annual awards program.

• Dr. Chris Borgman lectured at the Pennsylvania Optometric Association Meeting.
• Dr. Gregory Wolfe presented a webinar on treating diabetic patients for the South African Optometric Association.
• Dr. Marie Bodack lectured at the Kansas Optometric Society Vision and Learning Symposium.
• Dr. Lisa Wade ('84), welcomed Drs. Frances Bynum ('96), Mike Rothschild ('97), and Tonya Reynoldson ('01) to campus to speak to third-year students.
• Drs. Marc Taub and Pam Schnell ('01) wrote about using the Worth 4-dot test for Review of Optometry.
• Dr. David Maze is featured in this COVD Q&A profile.